Welt brace-laying tool



Dec. 8, 1953 s. B. HICKS ETI'AL 2,661,487

WELT BRACE-LAYING TOOL Filed June 8. 1951 IN VEN TORJ' BOYD F. H \CKS SYLVANOUS BJ-UCKS BY 1 A-r-roau EYs Patented Dec. 8, 1953 WELT BRACE-LAYING TOOL Sylvanous B. Hicks and Boyd F. Hicks, Stockton, Calif.

Application June 8, 1951, Serial No. 230,608

2 Claims.

This invention relates to shoe-repairing tools, and more particularly to a tool specifically designed for laying a brace cord or lace between the welt and upper of ladies shoes, preparatory to cementing on the soles of the shoes.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved welt brace-laying tool for inserting a brace cord or lace between the welt and upper of ladies shoes, preparatory to cementing on the soles of the shoes, said tool being simple in construction, being easy to manipulate, and greatly reducing the time required in laying the welt brace in the shoe as compared with equipment employed in other methods of accomplishing this purpose.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved welt brace-laying tool for inserting a brace between the welt and upper of a shoe preparatory to cementing the sole onto the shoe, the tool being very inexpensive to manufacture, being easy to manipulate and being suitable for use with equal efficiency by either right or left-handed operators.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the operation of inserting a welt cord or lace in a ladys shoe by the use of an improved tool according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the improved tool employed in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail view taken on line 33 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, the tool is generally designated at l l and comprises an elongated body member 12, said body member being preferably oval in cross-section and tapering in shape toward its tip portion, shown at 13. The body member i2 is preferably oval shaped, as above described, so that it will lie snugly in the palm of the hand, in the manner shown in Figure 1, in use of the tool. The tip 13 is formed with marginal ribs [4, [4, said ribs defining between them a groove 15, the ribs I4, I4 extending around the narrow tip l3 in the manner shown in Figures 2 and 3. Designated at It is an inclined opening formed through the tip l3 and connecting the ends of the groove IS. The tip 13 is rounded, as clearly shown in Figure 3, whereby the peripheral groove I5 is curved smoothly around said tip.

In use of the tool, the welt brace material, which may be, for example, round lace, such as shown at I1 in Figure 1, is passed through the downwardly and forwardly 2 inclined opening l6 and is laid around the groove IS. The welt brace material is inserted into the space between the welt and upper of a shoe l8 by the use of the tool, in the manner shown in Figure 1, namely, the end of the cord I! is placed in the space and laid therein by passing the tool around the shoe, the tip of the tool being held against the shoe in the manner shown in Figure 1.

It will be readily apparent that the tool may be used with equal facility by either a right-handed or a left-handed worker. The inclined opening I6 serves as a guide for holding the welt-bracing material in the groove I5 as the welt-bracing material is applied to the shoe.

While a specific embodiment of an improved welt brace-laying tool has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tool for inserting welt bracing on a shoe comprising an elongated forwardly tapering body member serving as a handle, a relatively narrow tip at the end of said body member, and spaced marginal ribs on said tip extending completely around the tip and defining a forwardly facing groove therebetween, said tip being formed with an opening therethrough substantially connecting the ends of said groove, whereby welt bracing may be passed through said opening and be supported in said groove in a substantially looped can tion while being applied to a shoe.

2. A tool for inserting welt bracing on a shoe comprising an elongated forwardly tapering body member serving as a handle, a relatively narrow tip at the end of said body member, and spaced marginal ribs on said tip extending completely around the tip and defining a forwardly facing groove therebetween, said tip being formed with a inclined opening therethrough substantially connecting the ends of said groove, said opening serving as a guide for holding welt bracing in said groove in a substantially looped configuration as the welt bracing is applied to a shoe.

SYLVANOUS B. HICKS. BOYD F. HICKS.

Name Date Oleson Oct. 11, 1932 Number 

